Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Grounded

My last two weeks at work were cut short by yesterday's visit to the doctor. Apparently the slightly larger-than-expected baby is pressing a little too much on my cervix, and to help ensure I go to term, my doctor has ordered bedrest and an arrêt de travail.

I feel great, so I'll admit I'm a little bit unhappy to suddenly be stuck at home on the couch for most of the day when I'd planned to be out walking around Paris until le jour J. I hope this is really necessary, and not just an overly-cautious French medical establishment a little too anxious to declare a pregnancy pathologique in order to give out an extra two weeks of pre-maternity leave. That said, my gynecologist is a very serious Englishwoman (should I be so culturally biased?), and I'm of course ready to prudently follow her advice. I don't want petit to show up early!

Naturally, the day I take leave unexpectedly everything blows up at work. I had to field a few phone calls from colleagues and the boss who are sympathetic but I'm afraid slightly irritated and inconvenienced. I feel bad, because I didn't mean to leave a minefield of unfinished code behind, honest! On the other hand, the sooner they learn to deal with it all without me, the better, I suppose.

I just don't want them all cursing me or burning me in effigy when they have to fix my bugs or worse, realizing just how dispensible I really am.

I took advantage of my first full day at home to watch one of my favorite French films: Un air de famille. That's one DVD that has earned its purchase price.

Tomorrow I'm planning to drag the computer into the living room, prop myself up on the couch, and log in for a blogging marathon. As long as I'm stuck in bed, I might as well make the most of it.

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About Me

I was born in Seattle, but now live on the other side of the map, just outside of Paris. I fell in love with and married a Frenchman in Boston, and in 2003 we took the great leap across the Atlantic. In the summer of 2007 we welcomed our son, le Petit, and in late 2010 our daughter, Mademoiselle. This is the story of my life as a pseudo-Parisienne in my country of adoption. Contact me at parisiennemaispresque (at) gmail (dot-com).